Artist Conversation: Mark Thomas Gibson
Tuesday, June 4
6–7 pm
On-site, $10; members and students free
Online, $8; members free and students free
About the Event
Cohosted by the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora (MoCAAD)—the country’s first virtual art museum—this program features Miami-born artist Mark Thomas Gibson in conversation with James Claiborne, deputy director for community engagement at the Barnes. Gibson, now based in Philadelphia, works across a range of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, and prints, to deliver incisive, witty, and visually compelling commentary on American culture. Join us as Gibson discusses his creative process as well as his experience participating in Miami MoCAAD’s This Life: Black Life in the Time of Now, an augmented and virtual reality exhibition exploring contemporary Black existence.
About the Speakers
Mark Thomas Gibson
Gibson is an acclaimed visual artist whose work explores contemporary culture and reveals a distinct vision of a satirical, dystopian America. He received a BFA from the Cooper Union in 2002 and an MFA from Yale School of Art in 2013. Gibson’s recent solo exhibitions were at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University (2022) and Sikkema Jenkins & Co. (2023). His books include Some Monsters Loom Large (2016) and Early Retirement (2017). Gibson is an assistant professor of painting at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture.
James Claiborne
As deputy director for community engagement at the Barnes, Claiborne works to build and strengthen relationships with arts and programming partners in the Philadelphia region and beyond. An experienced curator and educator, he is responsible for developing and leading a variety of public programs, family programs, and community engagement activities. In 2023, Claiborne co-curated the Barnes exhibition William Edmondson: A Monumental Vision and the installation Returning to Before, created by artist Brendan Fernandes in response to Edmondson’s work.